16 Awesome Handmade Christmas Gifts

There was a time that handmade gifts were a little naff. Not anymore.

I think because the world is busy and it’s so easy to buy gifts now that homemade gifts are now quite desirable. It shows that someone has taken time to make you something with love. Do you think a lot of people are rejecting consumerism and coming back to what truly counts?

I hope so.

Anyway, check out these awesome gift ideas. Some are super quick and easy and some require a little more time and effort. I would love to hear what you make for Christmas gifts. Give us a link or post a photo to my Facebook page.

♥ Relaxing Bath Salts. This idea is so incredibly easy – you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry. Recycle some pretty glass jars and you have some beautiful gifts for teachers, neighbours and girlfriends.

♥ Eco-friendly Bon Bons or Christmas Crackers from eco mumma Laura Trotta. These also double as Christmas serviettes! Make up a set for family and friends with quality little gifts inside.

♥ Upcycled bird dish from Morena’s Corner. This is so clever! Source a few bits from the opshop, nik naks from around the house or craft store and assemble. Too easy. Once you have got the idea, all sorts of ordinary objects you have around the house can be made over into something new.

♥ Magnesium Body Butter. It’s really easy and cheap to make your own body butter. The added goodness of magnesium can help with a myriad of health conditions as well. Using different essential oils, you can tailor it to specific purposes such as relaxation or muscle soreness.

♥ Upcycled Scrabble coasters for the word nerd in your life! You could have lots of fun with four letter words! From Incredible Things.

♥ Photo pendants. I am totally in love with this idea. It’s actually pretty simple cutting and glueing – you don’t need to be Martha Stewart! You could make necklaces, bracelets, keyrings or even bookmarks. Find the easy tutorial at Saving with Sarah.

♥ Cute jewellery hangers from the Twinkie Chan blog. Just glue some resin or plastic animals onto some pre-cut boards from the craft shop and paint!

♥ Hanging Outdoor Chair made from pallets from The Instructables website. This looks pretty easy and it’s very cool. Great gift for Dad.

♥ Christmas teabags! Make your own teabags in Christmas shapes from Dear Edna. I would use muslin as an eco-friendly, safe fabric. Make up a blend of chai tea or something a bit Christmasy.

♥ Teepee for the kids to play in! Upcycle some old sheets into this fun play tent for loads of imaginative play for the cherubs. It’s also a nice reading nook when you pile it up with cushions. I want one too!

♥ Rosemary Mint Shaving Cream. A super-easy homemade shaving cream to keep the men in your life chemical free. You could use any essential oils you have handy. Lavender would be awesome to make a lady’s shaving cream!

♥ Upcycled hobby horse. I am loving this hobby horse made from old socks! Check out the awesome tutorial at Light Blue Grey. It takes a little time and effort, but it’s considerably cheaper than buying one. You can also customize the colours to your kid’s favourites!

♥ Book Page Necklace. This is such a sweet idea for the book lover. Choose their favourite book and scan a page. The rest is simple assembly, especially if you use pre-made charms from a craft store. Love it! Check out the tutorial at Happy Hour Projects.

♥ Kindle cover from a book. This project upcycles an old book into a cute kindle cover. No sewing, just cutting, hot glue gun and ironing tape and an hour of your time. Brilliant idea from Come Together Kids.

♥ Dinosaur Plate. A cute idea for kid’s coins or nik naks or even as a serving platter for a party. Upcycle old toys and a melamine plate into something very funky. Full tutorial at Hostess with the Mostess.

♥ Phone charger pocket. One for the teenagers. Recharge your phone in style at any power point. It’s very easy to make if you have a sewing machine or you could just use ironing tape.

I hope you loved these 16 Awesome Handmade Christmas Gifts!!

Want more?

♥ 25 Homemade Real Food Gifts

♥ 10 Cool DIY Christmas Gifts

♥ 10 DIY Christmas Gifts to make with Love

♥ 5 Cool Kid’s Toys to make from Recycled Items

10 DIY Christmas Gifts to Make with Love!

I have put a challenge out to my family this year.

We have to make, with our very own hands, one gift for each other for Christmas!

This challenge was met with shock, then laughter and disbelief. When the hoo-ha had died down and they realized I was serious, their brains started ticking over and then ……… they started getting excited!

Trying to avoid the commercialism of Christmas time without being a Grinch is a pretty fine line. But this year, getting back to basics and making something with love for each other might just be the answer.

Now, DIY gifts may seem a bit daggy. But if you have been browsing Pinterest lately, you will soon see that DIY can be very funky, stylish and not all that hard, even for a creatively-challenged person like me!

We have all sorts of ideas lined up and I wanted to share a few with you that I have found with thanks to the wonderful world wide web.

Of course, I am going with natural and new age theme!

Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub

Simply mix 2 1/2 cups of sugar with 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Add 4 tablespoons of lemon juice and a few drops of essential oils. Any of the citrus oils would go beautifully with this. For the full tutorial, go here. Put it into a pretty jar with some ribbon, a cute spoon and a home-made tag. Wonderful!

Christmas Tea

Oh how I love my tea and I also love these cute jars from Ikea, which I have a zillion of! I am looking forward to making some of this blend up for family and friends. Choose organic black tea and organic spices for extra goodness. Find some pretty Christmas ribbon and make some tags or find some free printable tags online.

Quote Crockery

This very cool idea has been going viral on Pinterest and Facebook. I can’t wait to try it. I can imagine all my favourite quotes on a whole dinner set! Draw some of the kid’s favourite characters with coloured Sharpies onto plates or a funny moustache for Dad onto a mug. The ideas are endless. Check out your local op shop for some white crockery and get into it! Go here to see how to do it.

Photo candles

How beautiful is this idea I found on Pinterest? I couldn’t find the original website, but the instructions were on the pin. Use glass vases (try the op shop!) Then print out your black and white photos on vellum (from a scrapbooking store or Spotlight) and glue them (or use double sided tape) to the outside of the vase. Add a soy tealight candle and you have a beautiful and heart-warming gift for family and friends!

Oil Diffuser

I love my aromatherapy oils! First, get yourself some good quality oils (check out the ones at Twenty 8). Then all you need is a pretty jar or bottle (try the op shop), some bamboo skewers and a carrier oil like almond or jojoba. I have also seen it done with twigs from the garden for a really rustic look. Go here to see how it’s done.

Aromatherapy Playdough

I used to make this all the time when my cherubs were little, but with a little imagination, it transforms beautifully into a special gift. Make a whole set of play dough, each with their own natural colour and scent! Use Hoppers natural food colouring and good quality oils so you know your littlies will be safe. You can even name them fun things, make labels and package in some upcycled containers. Go here to see how it’s done.

Upcycled Jewellery Rack

How sweet is this!! Find a piece of driftwood or old bit of wood you have lying around. Go to the opshop or hardware store and find some cute door knobs. Attach. I even think I could manage to do this one! You could make it a coat or tie rack for the men in your life using slightly more masculine knobs (ooh that sounded a bit rude). Get creative! Go here for the details.

Upcycled Tyre Swing.

A seriously cute and budget friendly idea for the kids. Get an old tyre, paint, attach hooks and chain and find a tree. Lots of fun! Go here for the info.

Okay, so that is some of the very funky and clever ideas I have found so far! We still have a few weeks to go until the fat man arrives, so we are busy thinking and plotting and planning. I am really pleased at how fun this is turning out to be!

I would love to hear from you. Do you make handmade gifts for Christmas? Do you have any more ideas or links to share with us?